


The Bonds That Hold Us

by StrivingForImprovement



Category: Avengers (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Eventual Romance, Falling In Love, Forced Bonding, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), Good Laufey (Marvel), Jotunheim Won the War with Asgard (Marvel), Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki and Thor Are Not Related (Marvel), M/M, Matchmaking, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Political Alliances, Prince Loki (Marvel), Slow Burn, Tony Stark Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:54:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29577132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrivingForImprovement/pseuds/StrivingForImprovement
Summary: Jotunheim won the war against Asgard long ago and took control of Earth. Centuries later the humans rebelled and took their land for themselves, becoming their own established and influential nation in the realms, but political tensions between the people of Earth Jotunheim and Asgard have always remained strained. In an attempt to rectify this situation, an arranged marriage has been set between the human prince of Earth Tony Stark, and the Jotun prince Loki Laufeyson.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 28
Kudos: 59





	1. Prince Loki of Jotunheim

**Part 1: The Wedding**

It was freezing. That was Tony's first thought as he walked into his family's throne room. It was part of their arrangement with the people of Jotunheim upon agreeing to this meeting. The Jotun would journey to them in a show of good faith and goodwill towards the humans making a statement about the two races moving on despite their rocky past. The humans would try to make their stay as comfortable as possible for them and that included turning up the A/C to basically freezing.

Tony hated the cold with a passion, but he still preferred it this way. The winters in Jotunheim were rough, yes, but he was more worried about its people than its weather.

He knew that nothing would happen to them while they were there, but there were more than a few Jotun who didn't like the humans and wished they were still nothing but petty slaves serving at their feet. The human rebellion that happened centuries ago caused a big hit to the Jotun economy when they could no longer rely on slave labor. As such, some resented the humans for rebelling and believed that their fight for independence was an unearned attempt to increase their status in the world. The sentiment was not widespread but it was not uncommon and it made Tony slightly anxious about what they would do when they saw the human royal family.

If any of these malcontented citizens tried to harm him, they would be dead before they even got close enough to do so. He would be within his rights to protect himself, and he would make full use of that right if given reason to, but that would not be a good way to start a negotiation of peace among two proud nations.

His parents were already there, both impeccably dressed as always. Tony for his part had on as much gold and as many jewels as Pepper could fit onto his outfit while still looking as inviting as possible and not like he was going for a power play. He normally hated the fanfare and heavy accessories that came with hosting important guests and today was definitely no exception to that rule.

His crown sat regally on his head with his family's chosen gem in the center, a bright red ruby that gleamed in the sun with power and authority. His hair was combed and brushed and his facial hair was neatly trimmed. He wore red silk pants and a black button-up shirt with gold details sewn into the cuffs. A heavy fur coat was draped around his shoulders protecting him from the frosty atmosphere. Each of his fingers was adorned with golden rings covered in rubies and a golden watch sat heavily on his wrist. He felt like a peacock.

Honestly, he loved the color combination but this was a bit of overkill. Then again, nothing could be too good for his future husband. He wished he had on a pair of his usual sunglasses to hide his eyes away from everyone but his father had told him that if he came into the throne room wearing them, he would grab them off his face and break them without hesitation.

Tony still didn't love this whole idea. He was a prince so he knew he was never going to marry for something simple and sweet like love. His hand in matrimony was far too valuable to use for anything but as a means for political gains, but he'd never had much love for the idea.

He had never seen the person who was coming to see him, this Prince Loki. This would be their first time meeting. Apparently, according to his mother, they were supposed to have some alone time once he got here while the two families discussed the political side of the arrangement after the initial introductions and hellos were done. How much they could get to know each other in any significant way in a matter of hours was far beyond him but then again, the wedding wasn't supposed to be for another few months assuming both families came to an agreement as to what to wed them for so perhaps they would get a bit more time.

He already knew the agreement was going to happen. Both sides had too much to gain not to marry off their respective children. The kingdom of Jotunheim would be able to show alliance with the humans and strengthen their armies with access to the best weaponry the nine realms had to offer. They would also have a place in the gateway realm that connected the other realms to the rest of the cosmos.

The Earth kingdom would strengthen their alliance with the Jotun and gain an even stronger hold in the power structure of the nine realms as well as mages to enchant their already impressive weaponry to make it even more effective. Both would be able to hold a stronger force against the kingdom of Asgard, certifying their place as a superpower not even their might could easily topple. As far as the politics of the situation went, their union was as good as sealed.

Tony took his seat at his father's left side, his mother sitting on his father's right. He saw his father give him a calculating glance as he sat down, trying to decide if he looked impeccable enough to please the eyes of their guests. Tony sat straight as a pin as a prince was supposed to while his father scanned him and only let his breathe out when he nodded and turned back to the front of the room, relieved he didn't have to change anything.

"Do not make a spectacle out of this Anthony."

Tony had to smirk at that. "Me? Never."

"I mean it." Howard growled lowly, sounding truly irritated for what it was worth. "A lot is riding on this going well. You must make sure you impress Prince Loki. It is your duty as a prince of this realm."

Tony snorted. "What's the point in impressing him? It's not like he can say no. It's not like I can say no either for that matter. This whole thing has already been decided."

"Tony please, you know this needs to happen." That was his mother. Tony immediately relented and slid back into his seat with a huff, signaling the end of his protests. "Who knows? After spending a bit of time together you might come to like each other."

Tony severely doubted that. He may not know Prince Loki but he had heard enough stories to make the thought of meeting him leave a bad taste in his mouth. At least he wasn't ugly according to those he'd talked to so while he may grow to hate him he could at least like looking at him.

Tony heard a shuffling of feet and what sounded like fanfare just beyond the door and both of his parents sat up a little bit taller. "Sit up boy, they're here."

Tony obeyed with a quick glare and turned back to the door of the throne room to see the party entering into their court.

As it turned out, the Jotun really knew how to travel. A large group of twelve warrior Jotun wearing only brown pants and warrior face paint of three red lines under each eye walked into the room carrying two large palanquins between them. There were six warriors to a palanquin with three on one side and three on the other. Each one had a frame made of solid gold and white curtains draped around them to conceal the inhabitants inside.

Three servant girls all dressed in stark white bandeau tops and white long skirts walked in front carrying large bowls of water in their arms. One more empty-handed servant girl walked beside one of the palanquins keeping it in close proximity at all times, staying as close as she could get without getting trampled by the warriors carrying the royalty inside. They were all smaller Jotun, magic users.

Tony started to look at her again a bit more calculatingly and amended his previous thought. She was not just a simple servant. While the girls holding the bowls and the warriors carrying the palanquins all walked with their heads slightly bowed, a show of submission, she walked proudly with her head held high and her back straight like someone of importance, unaffected by the other royals in the room while still looking respectful. Tony wasn't quite sure what it was but he could tell she had some status.

Walking in last behind all of them were two smaller male Jotun playing matching instruments that looked like a cross between a trumpet and a flute. The noise they made was loud and powerful and slightly harsh but it matched the grandiose nature of the rest of the traveling party. 

The musicians lowered their instruments as the group stopped in the middle of the throne room and the warriors carefully lowered the palanquins and stepped back behind them in a uniform line. The servant girl who had been walking alongside them before now stepped to the side of the first carriage, her hands held firmly behind her back as she spoke loudly. Her voice boomed throughout the room despite her small stature. It was deep and authoritative and demanded the respect and attention of everyone in the room for those she was introducing.

"Introducing, King Laufey of Jotnuheim and his wife, Queen Andora of Jotunheim."

She gripped the long white curtain that stretched to almost twice her height and easily pulled it back with a flourish as the musicians once again started playing as the two royals exited. It was King Laufey that came out first, of course. He was tall, at least seven feet. He had black hair and a stern face. He might have been handsome if his face didn't look so cruel.

He had dozens of white scars small and large on his face and back. Each scar was a testament to the battles he'd been in. They were something the Jotun warriors wore proudly on their body, a visual testament to their experience in battle and their ability to take a punch and still keep going.

He wore a navy blue sleeveless vest that carried all the way to his knees and matching pants and no shirt. His hair fell in heavy dreadlocks to the middle of his back and they were each braided with gold bands and trinkets. He looked regal and strong.

A short second later, the queen followed her. The same girl who opened the curtain held out a hand to help her down which she immediately took. She was a smaller Jotun, a magic-user and she had the same dark hair as her husband although hers fell freely in loose curls, falling around her shoulders and framing her face gorgeously. She wore a light blue dress the same color as her skin that fit around her perfectly and flowed behind her elegantly with every step.

She had no scars, a point of pride for mages of Jotunheim, and a testament to their ability to fight in battles without taking a single blow. Her family markings were not as pronounced as her husbands. They were softer, more curved, and swirled but they still spoke of a powerful family from the Jotun kingdom.

None of them wore shoes but she had silver anklets resting near her feet. Silver bands of a similar material also wrapped around her wrists and waist. She had silver earrings on and a silver necklace sat regally on her chest.

The two stepped forward side by side demanding every bit of respect their titles owed them just with their very presence. As soon as they reached the servant girls standing at the front of the room, two of them sat down their bowls of water and began to wave their hands above them, hands glowing with magic.

The water slowly rose from the bowls straight into the air and flowed under the servant girls' gestures until it froze and became two thrones made purely of ice both simplistic in design but still quite beautiful and elegant. Both monarchs took their seats and turned their eyes on the family in front of them.

The musicians started playing again while six of the warriors stepped forward unprompted and grabbed the now emptied palanquin and moved it to the back of the room. The other six stepped forward and brought the second one a little bit closer to take the spot of the previous one. This one was much smaller. It was the size of a regular human's. Tony already knew who was waiting inside.

The servant girl grabbed the curtain and began to pull it back with a flourish, allowing the occupant to step out into the throne room. He came out slowly and Tony couldn't help but lean forward just a little to get a better look at him.

The second he stepped forward where he could see him, Tony felt his eyes widen slightly. He really was beautiful. He was tall, taller than Tony but still small by Jotun standards. His body was slim but muscular and lithe like a dancer. Everything he wore was clearly to make him look more pleasing to the eye, not that he needed it.

His black hair was in a neat braid keeping his hair out of his face. He wore a long sleeveless green jacket that fell to his feet and matching loose pants that sat low on his hips and widened out around his legs.

Every part of his body was covered in gold. He easily had on more jewelry than everyone else in the room combined. There were gold bracelets on his wrists, multiple golden rings on each of his fingers, anklets by his feet, armbands on his upper arms, heavy-looking earrings in his ears, and a golden band around his head. It was almost amusing to Tony how he had toned down his jewelry to look more inviting and yet here _he_ was. Loki did not look inviting, he looked powerful. It was amazing.

It wasn't just his looks that made Tony keep his eyes on him, it was the expression on his face, one he recognized having seen it on his own face once or twice before. Sure, he walked head held high, back straight, and face calm like all royals were taught to walk but it was his expression that intrigued Tony the most.

He looked absolutely bored like this entire event was beneath him, but while his face looked bored, his eyes were carefully scanning everything and everyone around him, silently appraising them all. Tony noticed how he purposefully avoided looking at him. Every time his eyes got close they darted in a different direction. Interesting.

Tony turned away from him and caught a glimpse of the king's knowing smirking, clearly picking up on Tony's interest in his son. Well, at least his interest worked in everyone's favor, not just theirs. The final servant girl placed her bowl of water down and got to work constructing a third throne for him to sit in. Loki stepped in front of his seat but he didn't sit down. He stopped and looked to his father who nodded towards him, signaling something to happen, Tony didn't know what.

Loki nodded slightly back and turned back towards the family in front of him before he closed his eyes. Tony was proud of himself for not showing any reactions as his blue skin slowly started to fade, being immediately replaced by smooth pale skin like a human's wherever the blue retreated. His tribal markings melted into his skin leaving it smooth. He opened his eyes and when he did the last of the red washed away to reveal a stunning shade of green. By the time he was done, he no longer looked like a Jotun, he looked like a human.

He sat down with a smirk when the transformation was finished and the three servant girls who constructed their thrones walked back to stand by the warriors silently. The girl who introduced the king and queen stepped forward to stand beside Loki's throne.

"Introducing Loki Laufeyson, crown prince of Jotunheim." With that, the meeting began. 

His father started immediately. "King Laufey, we are happy to have you here today. I trust your travels into our realm went well?"

Laufey nodded. "The journey was long but not unbearable. I must admit, I do see the charm and beauty in your land even if it is so vastly different from the one we call home."

"I have seen your home and I can gladly return the sentiment. Queen Andora, it is lovely to see you as well. You look as lovely as ever."

She smiled sweetly. "The pleasure is mine. I am excited to finalize the coming union of our two sons to each other."

"Speaking of our sons," his mother finally spoke "perhaps we should let them get acquainted with each other while we discuss business. There is no real need to keep them here for this part after all."

Queen Andora seemed happy to jump onto the opportunity to give the two boys some time by themselves.

"Yes, I think that would be good. Loki, why don't you let Prince Tony give you a tour of the palace."

She made it sound like an inviting option but the look she sent her son was clearly meant to inform him that he did not have a say in the matter. Tony couldn't read Loki's expression at the statement but it did change slightly. He simply nodded and rose to his feet, looking over at Tony for the first time.

Tony wished he could sit there for longer, stare into Loki's eyes and try to see what he saw when he looked at him and how he felt about this whole thing. He gave him the same calculating look that he gave everything else in the room, almost like he was trying to determine his value. Tony immediately had the urge to decode it. He wondered what Loki thought his value was.

Tony stopped trying to analyze Prince Loki's expression after a few seconds and shot the Jotun King and Queen his best diplomatic smile. This whole deal was to unite their families after all. He had to make sure he showed them a little charm "I would be happy to show Prince Loki around."

Tony stepped down from his chair and walked over to where Loki was standing waiting for him patiently, eyes no long appraising him. Now he looked truly bored, but Tony planned to change that with this tour. You only get one first impression after all. He offered out his arm which Loki stiffly took, still giving him the same calculating look, and together the two left the throne room arm in arm.


	2. First Impressions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! To anyone who saw that there was an update on Sunday, I have to apologize. I accidentally posted the rough draft for chapter five. Hopefully, no one actually saw it and the secrets of the story are still safe, although I'm pretty sure the content of the chapter didn't make sense without the context, but if you did see it and you did make sense of it, please no spoilers for anyone else let them enjoy the ride. Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for returning!

The two princes walked arm in arm towards the throne room doors. Tony was uncharacteristically nervous. He had asked anyone who had met him before what Prince Loki was like in anticipation for this day and they all painted the same picture and unfortunately, it was of someone he was not anxious to meet. Still, like him or not they were going to be married so he was going to play nice. 

The same girl from earlier was also still with them currently following them from the room. Tony was still curious about her too. She reminded him a lot of Pepper, and not just because of the red hair or the sharp look in her eye. Before he could figure out the connection, he heard the doors of the throne room close behind him. He realized his thinking time was over.

As soon as they closed Loki pulled his arm out of Tony's and went over to join the girl, giving himself some room. Tony smiled at him charmingly.

"Not a big fan of people in your personal space?"

He stayed silent.

"Do you like Earth so far?"

Again, more silence. He just sat there his face as blank as a sheet of paper and his mouth glued shut. Tony was starting to wonder if he could talk.

"Ok... Would you like to introduce your companion?"

"She can introduce herself actually." He was surprised when she spoke up so suddenly and stepped forward, taking the floor for herself but he just smiled encouragingly and swept his hand out to her invitingly. At least someone was talking to him.

"By all means, please."

"My name is Amaya I am the personal attendant to Prince Loki."

Suddenly it all made sense. Tony felt foolish for not putting it together earlier, it was so obvious. That was why she reminded him of Pepper, they both did the same job, just for different people.

"So where he goes you go?"

"That is correct."

"Great! It's lovely to meet you and sorry if I offended you earlier. Welcome to Earth." A kind smile spread across her face and he was grateful for it. "So anyway, where would you like to start the tour?"

"We're not going on a tour." Tony was surprised when Loki finally spoke. His arms were crossed heavily across his chest. "I'm going to my room." His voice sounded completely blank and yet, somehow his words came out as a command. Tony didn't like being commanded. His smile became a bit less genuine.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. The palace is big, and it's very easy to get lost."

"I don't care what is or isn't a good idea to you. I'm not going on a tour."

Tony stared at him for a few seconds and took a long mental deep breath before trying again.

"Look, I understand this situation probably isn't exactly your favorite. To be honest with you, it's not my favorite either but we're here now so, let's try to make the best of it and get to know each other. I promise I don't bite."

"I don't care what you do, now and for the rest of our marriage as well. I don't want to know you, I don't even want to remember you exist after this is all over. We will be married in a grand ceremony the likes of which the nine realms have never seen, but before and after that, you will stay out of my way and I will, in turn, stay out of yours. Now go find something to do. I'm not going on any stupid tour."

"Yes, you are. I told your mother I would give you a tour, here I am giving you one. Let's go." Tony's smile was now completely gone. His patience was quickly following, he wasn't sure why he was still holding on to it so tightly but at this rate, it was clearly not about to last much longer. 

If looks could kill, Tony would be dead right now and the way he was acting, Loki probably wouldn't mind that outcome. "I thought they said you were supposed to be smart! I am not going anywhere with you, you foolish mortal!"

"Oh? And what will you do when you can't find your way to breakfast tomorrow because you can't find the dining hall? Or when your parents ask you how the tour went today that you _didn't bother to go on_ because you were too busy being stubborn sitting in your room doing nothing?"

"You will pick me up tomorrow so we can go to breakfast together to appear friendly in front of our parents. If they ask about the tour we will tell them we went on it and had a lovely time together, do you think you can manage that? Come, Amaya."

Loki and Amaya turned away and left Tony standing there by himself, and wandered down the hallway towards the rooms they would be staying in while they were here. How he knew which direction to go in Tony had no idea and how he could manage to be so disrespectful to someone he had just met was also beyond him but Tony was sure about one thing.

With one conversation, Loki had proven everything that everyone said about him right and he somehow already hated him even more than he thought he would when they were describing him. Tony debated with himself for a second on whether or not he should go after the prince. The proper thing to do would be to at least make sure he made it to his room safely but Tony was very rarely proper when didn't have to be, especially with people like _him_.

As far as he was concerned, If Prince Loki wanted to wander randomly around the large home by himself and inevitably get lost because he was too stubborn and disrespectful to accept a tour, then that was his problem. He would figure it out eventually. Why should Tony care?

Tony walked back to his chambers and found Pepper still sitting inside directing a small team of workers to organize all of the other clothes and accessories they had considered as options for this meeting but as soon as Tony walked in, she sent them all out to give them both some privacy. In seconds, the room was cleared.

"You're back already? I thought you two were supposed to be spending time getting to know each other."

He slowly started taking off all of his rings and his crown and setting them down inside a large box on his dresser. "Prince Loki decided he doesn't want a tour and would rather go spend the whole day bored and sulking in his room. Then he kindly informed me that I _will_ pick him up for breakfast tomorrow and walk with him to the dining hall to look friendly in front of our parents and if they ask us any questions we'll just lie and say we had a lovely time."

Tony rolled his neck trying to pop his stiff joints and relax his body just a little bit. Pepper came up behind him and took the heavy winter coat off his shoulders. "So, what do you think?"

Tony shrugged. "He's as pretty as they said he'd be, I'll give him that."

Pepper looked at him expectantly clearly waiting for him to go on. "And?"

Tony scoffed. "He's a pompous royal jerk Pep. I don't think he has the ability to talk to people without talking down at them." He opened his drawers and started rummaging through his things looking for a casual outfit to wear.

"That seems a bit harsh. You barely even know him. You only met him today."

"And yet everything he says or does has matched the things that people say about him. I may not know much but from what I know so far, I don't want to know more."

"Well, you're going to have to find a way to get through it because you will be married to him. You had one conversation with him under not the best circumstances. You should go find him. Maybe if you catch him at a more private time you two can talk and get to know each other."

Tony shook his head immediately pulling a pair of sweatpants on and pulling a black wife beater over his head. "Absolutely not. I don't want to talk to his royal pain until I've at least had time to think about all of this."

"What are you going to do then?"

"I'm going to stay here. I'm going to sit and wait for my mother to tell me what I was married off for and then I'll wait for tomorrow when I get to take my _lovely_ future husband to breakfast."

"You know you're never going to even have a shot at liking the guy if you just avoid him all the time."

"Trust me Pep, we won't have to worry about that. I will never, _ever_ like that guy. I can promise you that now."

* * *

"You could have been nicer," Amaya said as the two walked down the long hallways of the palace towards Loki's room.

Loki scoffed. "Nicer? To him?"

"Yes, something I thought would have been fairly simple for you to at least pretend, seeing as how he's to be your husband."

"Don't start with me on that. You already know I don't wish to marry him."

"Yes but still you have to and these marriages tend to go smoother if you at least like each other."

"Please. My parents don't like each other, they've done fine all of these years."

"Your parents respect and depend on each other even if they don't see each other romantically. They may not love each other but they like each other very much." Loki just huffed in response and focused harder on following the tracking spell he had placed on his things, trying his best to ignore his best friend. "What was the matter with him? He seemed pleasant enough to me and he's attractive too. He didn't even try to send me away."

"I wouldn't have let him send you even if he had wanted to."

"Yes but it's telling that he didn't even try. You know that plenty of royals would not have given me the same courtesy."

"I don't care about the nice little show he puts on or how attractive he is. I don't like how he acts. It's like he expects everyone to be grateful that he decided to grace them with his presence."

"So would that make you the pot or the kettle in this situation?" Loki shot a quick glare at her. "Be that as it may, you must find something you like about him. This union is too important to be jeopardized by your hasty judgment of the man."

Loki didn't respond, he just increased the length of his already long strides towards his room forcing his best friend to practically jog beside him to keep up, something he knew she hated.

When he got there he was glad to see it was a rather simple room. He was tired of the over-decadent nature of the human kingdom, they always had to have everything so overly grand as if they had to prove something. He removed all of his gold and jewels and put them back onto his dresser and slipped back into his Jotun skin with ease.

"Do I really have to look like that the entire time I'm here? I look strange as a human."

"You do not look strange you look very handsome and the king and queen said they'd prefer for you to stay that way while in Anthony's presence until he gets used to you. Many humans are still wary around Jotun you know."

Loki sighed. He threw his jacket over a chair by a desk and flopped down very unceremoniously on the bed of his temporary room. "How long are we to stay here for? I want to go home."

"I'm not sure. Neither of your parents said and it doesn't seem like any of the other servants knew either."

His eyebrows immediately knit together in confusion. That was odd. His parents normally told him how long they were going to be gone for and at the very least if they didn't tell him, they always told Amaya. She had to pack his things. "How much did they tell you to pack for me?"

"They didn't. They simply said to pack many items of various types. I wasn't given any specific time frames."

Loki frowned. "That's strange. They're trying to pull something, I just know they are. I'm going to find out what it is."

"I'm sure you will once they reveal it to you but I think even you won't be able to figure it out before then. Whatever it is everyone is unsure which means your parents have kept it very tight-lipped. If you sneak over there to try and figure out what it is, you risk them catching you and finding out that you're not with Prince Tony right now. I'm sure they'll tell you what it is soon enough."

Loki had the urge to say they could only be mad if he was caught but he did not feel like snooping around waiting for his parents to reveal their dirty secret today. He had a feeling Amaya was right. They would tell him soon enough.

Amaya bid him adieu and entered her adjoining room connected to his. He would be able to call her at any time if he needed her but for right now, he let her go. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts. There were a lot of things to think about.

* * *

As it turned out Tony didn't have to wait that long for his mother to come to his room. She entered in slowly and sat on the edge of her son's bed.

"How was your tour with Prince Loki?"

"Fine." He didn't put much effort in to make it convincing and he could tell by the look on her face that she did not believe him.

"Do you think you may like him?"

Tony paused for a second, conflicted. He was going to be married no matter what but that didn't mean he wanted his mother thinking he didn't like his future husband. Still, he couldn't lie to her. She was his mother she'd see it coming a mile away so he shrugged and gave her the best half-truth he could.

"Maybe with time we can grow to like each other. We only just met today, it's too soon to tell." His words to Pepper earlier rang loudly in his ears. "How did the negotiations go?"

"Very well. We gained a lot from the deal and so did they. The two kingdoms will be united as one and we will all be stronger for it and your children will be set to inherit both the kingdoms of Jotunheim and Earth."

"Well, at least I'm being sold out for something meaningful." Tony felt bad as soon as he said it. He felt even worse at the look on his mother's face. "I'm sorry that came out really, really bad."

She shook her head at him. "You don't have to hide it. It's how you honestly feel about the situation. I know you don't like it."

Tony waved his hand dismissively. He knew he sounded bitter but as bad as he felt right now, he couldn't help it. "I always knew I was going to be arranged to marry someone. At least it will benefit the people."

"It could benefit you if you gave him a chance."

Tony didn't say anything to that. He didn't think he would ever be ok with being married to Loki but how was he going to tell her that?

"Just promise me you'll give it a chance. I don't want to send my only child to be forever unhappily wed. You don't have to love him but maybe you can grow to like him if you try. Maybe that can be enough."

His mother kissed him gently on his forehead and got up to leave.

* * *

"How was your time with Prince Tony?"

"Fine," Loki said immediately still looking up at the ceiling instead of at his father.

"Really? It must have been a fast tour. With a palace of this magnitude, it seems like you should still be on it." Loki finally turned to look at Laufey who was clearly didn't believe his son's words.

Loki shrugged. "We parted early. He'll be picking me up for breakfast tomorrow anyway."

Laufey still didn't look convinced. He ducked through the doorway to the small room and sat on the side of the bed. Loki sighed and sat up next to his father. "You know this is necessary Loki. We would not do it unless it was."

Loki shook his head bitterly. "It doesn't matter. It's done. I will do my duty to Jotunheim, I'm sure he'll do his duty to Midgard and we will unite the kingdoms together under one throne. I assume the terms of the negotiations were good?"

"Yes, it went very well. We will have a glorious union with Midgard. In many ways, we will have all of the things we originally aimed for by taking them over centuries ago." This news unsurprisingly didn't seem to appease his oldest son. "You may grow to like him if you attempt to let him in. He seems to like you well enough."

"He does not like me. He does not know me, he simply finds me pretty to look at and I see no reason to try and like him. I have to marry him, that's it. In a few years, I will have his children and they will rule over the kingdom we build and seel our power in the nine realms once and for all, and I will rule by his side but those are the only things I owe him."

"Love makes all of that easier."

"You and mother do not love each other."

Laufey considered the statement for a second unable to truly deny it. It was common knowledge in the Nine Realms that the king and queen did not love each other in any traditional way but it was also widely believed that they had the best relationships between any two monarchs currently in power even without it.

"Your mother and I have a different type of love for each other. It is not romantic but we've made it work for us. We like each other. We would rather not see you suffer for the rest of your life betrothed to a man you do not at least have some affection for. Very rarely do monarchs get to marry for love, but maybe you can come to have some level of feelings for each other like your mother and I have if you both try."

"You and Amaya sound so much alike," Loki grumbled bitterly. When his father and Amaya agreed on something they were usually right and they always agreed on things that made Loki upset. Although to be fair some would say that it was dangerously easy to piss Loki off.

"She is wise, that is why we chose her as your attendant."

"That and she's willing to curse me out if need be."

Laufey smirked. "That too."

The two fell silent again for a moment. Laufey let his son think about everything he had said and try to find a response.

"I can't promise to love him father, not in any form. I can't even promise to try and like him."

"I know. You never have been good at letting down your walls for anyone else, and yet, I have a feeling that if you did you two might actually like each other much more than you think."

Laufey put a comforting hand on his son's shoulder for a second trying to make him feel slightly less gloomy before he rose to his feet and exited the room leaving Loki on his own again.

He knew he should give Stark a chance to know him. Maybe there really was a chance he could gain something from this marriage besides political power, but doing so would mean letting him in. He would have to let his guard down for another person risking his heart in the process and his heart couldn't take that kind of pain. Why would he do something as foolish as that?


	3. Breakfast

"Are you going to be nice today?"

"I severely doubt it."

Loki turned around and glared at Amaya when she popped him with the comb she was currently using on his hair. "Would you rather I lie?"

"I would rather you not act like such a child." She set the comb down and walked in front of her friend.

He watched annoyed as she slowly circled him, her critical narrowed gaze taking him in. He scowled but as usual, his sour mood had no effect on her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to decide how I should do your hair this morning."

"Just put it back in the braid you did yesterday. I liked it that way."

She shook her head immediately. "You need to switch it up. Prince Tony will appreciate the difference."

Loki scoffed. "Yes, and we wouldn't want to disappoint Prince Tony now would we." The sarcasm was heavy but once again, Amaya was unaffected by her friend's attitude.

"One of us has to try to make this marriage work, it clearly won't be you, so that leaves me. Which pants are you to wear today?"

Loki pointed to the garment lying neatly on his nightstand. "Ooooh! Perfect!" Amaya's face lit up and she twisted her hand in a quick motion summoning a bright green ribbon in the same material. She tied his hair into a high bun and stepped back to look at him again.

Her face immediately broke out into a grin at the elegant yet simple style. Loki chucked at her overwhelming enthusiasm. He never was able to stay annoyed at her forever, a true testament to how much he loved her.

"You are acting as if this is the first time you have tied my hair up this way."

"Yes but it is still beautiful. Your hair has always been beautiful. So manageable too. Mines wants to do anything but lay down flat."

"Your hair is just as beautiful, it just has more volume."

"It looks bushy."

"It looks lovely and I will never understand why you hate it so."

"Yes well, I believe yours looks better. You _must_ thank your stylist for me when you get a chance." Amaya batted her lashes with the most innocent smile.

Loki rolled his eyes at the not-so-subtle prompt and indulged his friend. "My many thanks to you. Truly no one could have combed my hair and put a ribbon in it such as you do."

"Anything for you my prince."

She smirked and walked over towards the large dresser.

"Now get dressed before he gets here. I'm going to grab your bands."

Loki groaned. "Not all of them. I don't know why those things were made to be so ridiculously heavy."

"They are to show your power and wealth. You only have to wear them for ceremonial purposes. Even then your parents often let you out of it. Put them on for now and once we get home you can forget all about them until the next time you are forced to have them placed on you."

Loki pulled on his pants with a sigh and waited on his bed for her to bring over the heaping piles of jewelry. Thankfully for him she only brought over the bracelets and anklets. He quickly slid them onto his body.

"How much longer before he gets here?"

"I'm not sure but I believe we have some time. They eat breakfast a bit later here than we do in Jotunheim."

"Come here" he picked up the comb she had just used on him and motioned for her to sit in front of him. She gave an actual squeal of excitement and Loki had to chuckle again at that as he slowly worked the come through her hair getting out all of the, admittedly few, knots and tangles. "I don't know why you always react this way, it is hardly the first time I've combed your hair."

"No but you almost never do it. It's so rare and calming."

"In my defense we almost never have the time. We can barely get me ready in the morning. Perhaps we should attempt to split the time more equally."

"I could wake you earlier."

"Your funeral."

They both chuckled knowing neither one of them was willing to go through that hell.

"When you don't look presentable it's a true problem. You are a prince, you have to look as such. It is just pleasant for me to look nice. It is not truly necessary."

"If it is any consolation you always look amazing to me."

Amaya turned towards him to smile gratefully before turning back around. "Can I request something of you?"

"Will it make me mad?"

"I think you're calm enough right now for it not to."

"I hope you're right. I would hate to start the day by throwing a fireball at you. What is it?"

"Please, at least be polite to Prince Tony today." Loki groaned as soon as she said it. "You do not like him and you clearly do not want to like him but you could at least be cordial."

"Why should I do something like that?"

"For one it will stop him from hating you."

"That is the goal. I want him to hate me. I will be left alone for the rest of our marriage if he does."

"Are you sure? He does not seem the type to simply let it go when something frustrates him. Look at how long he was willing to argue with you yesterday about a small tour."

"Yes he seems to be quite persistent, which is why it's a good thing I'm excellent at frustrating people. Name me a person I could not drive away if I truly wanted to."

"Me."

Loki didn't miss a beat. "He is not you. You love me."

"This is true but I believe he will be just as adamant on the point."

"He can be as adamant on his point as he wants. I will be adamant on mine. Let's see who wins." Loki put down the comb and stood from his seat only slightly annoyed. "I am not going to be nice. Your request has been denied. Your hair is all done my lady."

Amaya sighed and walked over to the mirror without another word to see her hair brushed and braided laying flat against her head. Despite what they had just said she couldn't help but smile when she saw it. "I still do not understand why you like it so flat."

"You should put up your enchantment now. He will be here at any minute."

Loki sighed but let the enchantment take him, waiting for Tony to arrive to bring him to the dining hall. He soon heard a knock on the door and answered it quickly.

Tony was wearing black slacks and a red silk shirt. Loki was starting to wonder if these were the only colors he owned. He looked slightly startled to see him which didn't make sense seeing as how it was _his room_. There was a girl with him standing off to the side holding a leather bound notebook in her hands and giving him a friendly yet professional smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry I thought you were ready. I'll give you a few more minutes to finish getting up."

In his initial shock Loki wasn't sure if he should be more surprised or offended at Stark's words. "What are you talking about? I am ready."

"You're not wearing a shirt."

Loki was wearing satin black pants with a snake emblem wrapped protectively around the waist. They were tight in the waist and ankles but baggy otherwise.

Loki stared at him, truly amazed at his stupidity. "Jotun do not wear shirts."

He looked truly shocked at the statement. "Really? Why not?"

"Why would we? I fail to understand why humans do."

"For warmth in the cold. I can see how that one obviously doesn't apply to you but we also wear them for modesty. Females wear them to cover their breasts because they're seen as sexual and males do the same because… I guess we just do."

"Sexual? Since when are breasts sexual?" Tony stared at him for a second blinking slowly as if he wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Or maybe he just thought that was a dumb question.

"You can derive sexual pleasure from them so they're often seen as sexual."

"You can derive sexual pleasure from most of your body parts if you know what you're doing."

"All of the female Jotun in the palace right now are wearing shirts." He looked to Amaya for help, who was indeed wearing the same style of white bandeau top from yesterday, but she simply shook her head at him.

"That is primarily for your comfort, not our own. Prince Loki is telling the truth, in Jotunheim breasts are not seen as sexual. It would be seen as more strange if I covered them were we back home."

He rolled his eyes. "You humans may need to cover yourselves at all times but In Jotunheim we see no such need to be ashamed of our bodies."

Tony knit his eyebrows together in displeasure at the insult. He stared at Loki for just a second before he shook his head and tried one more time.

"You know what, I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot today or yesterday. Here, I'll take you to breakfast, we can get to know each other a little better while we eat. Where are your shoes?"

"Jotun do not wear shoes."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"What could be dangerous about it?"

"We wear shoes to avoid accidentally stepping on something and getting injured."

Loki nodded indulgently. "Yes well us Jotun have developed a new advanced method to help protect us from this worry. It's called looking where you're going."

An annoyed look immediately took over Tony's face, his attempts to be nice clearly done for the day. "You know what, whatever. Breakfast is this way. Pay attention you're figuring out how to get back to your room I'm not dealing with you today."

Loki turned back and saw the annoyed glare Amaya was sending his way as Prince Tony and his associate turned and left without looking to see if they were with them. "Oh come now, he's marrying a Jotun. If he had picked up a book on our culture he would know these things."

She snapped at him. "You are both insufferable, and you both have a lot to learn about the others' people. Do not think just because he didn't know some things about your culture it makes up for the way you mock theirs." Amaya turned and left the room. Loki walked beside her to catch up with Tony who was far ahead of them and didn't seem to care whether or not they caught up.

* * *

"Tony-"

"I don't even want to hear it Pep."

"It's rude to leave him behind like that."

"Everything he says and does is rude! Give me one good reason why I should even try to be polite!"

Tony was sure there was some reason she could give, but she was considerate enough not to voice it. Maybe she just understood that it wouldn't make a difference.

All four monarchs were already there when they arrived at the dining hall. Their parents had conveniently left four empty seats together at the head of the table between the two families. Both of the princes walked over to them and sat down, their attendants between them, not saying a single word to each other. Tony was sure his parents meant for them to sit side by side but neither boy was not rushing to make that happen.

Large plates of food were set in front of them and they happily started stuffing their faces, avoiding conversation with each other at all cost. He could feel his parents' eyes on him. He was sure Loki could feel his parents' as well but they both ignored the silent probing.

Tony was surprised at first when their parents didn't send them of to another bonding activity almost as soon as they sat down. He paused with his food when his mother slowly rose, all eyes falling on her as she smiled at the gathered families. Nobody else looked as surprised as Tony felt about this except for Loki. "We are happy to say that we have come to a favorable agreement and your bond will be sealed with a royal wedding in a few month's time. As is such, King Laufey and Queen Andora will return to Jotunheim to tell the people the joyous news of your coming union."

Tony could see Loki smirk slightly around his cup at the news that he'd soon be returning home. Tony immediately wished there was some way to wipe the smug look off his annoying face. "However," she continued "we both agreed that it would not be the best idea for you two to marry with your relationship being so new. As is such, we want you both to bond and get to know each other a bit better so that when you rule, you will do so together and in harmony.

"To give you both the time and environment you need to truly get to know one another, you will be sent to live together in a secluded area in the woods of Alfheim where you will look over and care for each other so that your bond can grow. You may each bring your most trusted attendant with you as well as one trunk of personal items of your choice but that is all and you will remain there until the day of the wedding."

Tony could hear Loki choke slightly somewhere near him on the drink he was still drinking and he could hear his parents call out to him in concern but he couldn't focus on it. It may have even made him laugh if it weren't for the screaming white noise currently going through his head at the implication of what his mother just said. He felt Pepper shake him slightly to bring him back and he was horrified to find his mother still wasn't done.

"You will be leaving for your trip tomorrow morning. You may spend the rest of the day packing and saying your goodbyes. Your chosen attendants will be given means to contact the royal family in case of an emergency, however, you two will have no means to communicate with us or anyone else in the outside world besides each other. This trip is meant for you two to come together as a unit, and we have made all of the proper conditions to ensure that happens."

Loki turned to the queen, his face unreadable and his voice tightly controlled. "May I be excused?"

She nodded. "Yes you may. Tony you may also go. The both of you need to start packing."

Tony got up gratefully and practically raced out of the door Loki following only a few paces behind him.

Tony stormed to his workshop, Pepper close behind, and immediately started digging around furiously for something to work on.

"Jarvis lock down the shop."

'Already done sir'

"Tony I-"

"Pep, just, don't. I don't even want to talk about it." He picked up one of the small helper robots he had recently been working on and started tinkering. The things were about the size of his palm and they each only took a few hours and some scrap metal to build but they could each work independently to perform small tasks. They could even assemble themselves together into larger tools if need be. If Tony truly wanted to, he could tell them to assemble more of themselves, but right now he needed something to distract him from the cruelty that was just placed on him.

"Tony we need to talk about this, this is not healthy."

"Talk about what Pepper? What is there to talk about I'm being forced to go whether I want to or not and I don't want to!"

He put the tiny bot down rather hard.

"A cabin in the woods in Alfheim, are they serious! I could barely stand the two minutes I was around that jerk when I picked him up for breakfast!"

Pepper sighed and sat down neatly on the edge of his bed. "That's exactly why they're sending you off to the cabin. You two can hardly be in the same room as each other for two seconds without arguing and it's been two days. That's not good conditions for a successful political union."

"How is that my fault? You see how he acted earlier the guy's a jerk! He's the one who always wants to fight with or demean me every five seconds and all I try to do is be nice! Why am I being punished!"

"To be fair I did suggest that you might want to read a book on their culture before they got here."

Tony turned to her exasperated "I did read it!" Pepper gave him a skeptical look. "I skimmed it! Briefly... I was busy!!"

"With what!"

"I was fine tuning Jarvis's code, it needed upgrading again!"

"Tony Jarvis is the most advanced computer system ever built, I'm sure he would've been ok without an upgrade again while you were reading the book."

"Whether I knew it or not he still would've tried to fight me!"

"I agree but you shouldn't be giving him easy opportunities to. I will admit he seemed like he can be a bit touchy but you're still betrothed and your parents still have a point. You can't run a kingdom as you are now. Both of you are always snapping at each other's neck. You need to learn to get along."

Tony glared at her and crossed his arms stubbornly. "You know what Pepper, fine. I'll be nice, I'll try to charm the little brat and make this marriage work, but when it fails and we're both miserable, I don't want to hear a single thing about what I could've done to make this work."

Pepper sighed. She could recognize when she'd hit a wall with her friend. "I'm going to go pack your things. Do you want me to bring anything specific?"

Tony shook his head absently, completely exhausted even though the day just started. "Pack anything. It doesn't matter anymore."

* * *

Loki's red eyes narrowed dangerously at his parents when they suddenly entered his room. His father returned the look immediately. "Fix your face boy."

"Alone. In a cabin in the woods. In _Alfheim!_ Are you joking!"

"We are quite serious Loki. You two need a chance to learn about each other and get along." That was his mother, sounding not at all willing to patiently deal with her son's self concerned antics and protests.

"We could have learned about each other here! We didn't need to be cut off from the rest of the world in a region I'm sure neither of us is overly familiar with in order to do that!"

His father scoffed. "You two couldn't even go on a walk around the palace together yesterday, do you really expect us to believe you will actually try to learn about each other if we don't make you?"

"If I had known this would be the result I would've gone on the stupid thing!"

"It's not just about the tour Loki! There are other reasons why we feel you won't truly make an honest attempt at bonding with him unless we make you go on this trip."

"I don't care about your reasons! I don't care about stupid things like bonding! I have already agreed to marry him I do not know what more you want from me! I do not wish to go!"

"Enough Loki!" His mother's voice was deadly serious signaling the end of the discussion and warning him not to argue. "I don't care how you feel about this trip, you are a prince of the Nine Relams and you will act like one. You will go on this trip you will try to cooperate with Prince Tony and you _will_ be nice and learn about him just as he will you and you two will both do everything in your power to make this marriage work. Do I make myself clear?" 

Loki and his mother glared at each other, fiercely trying to make the other back down but it was a losing battle and Loki knew it even before he started it. "Do I make myself clear Loki?"

"Crystal" he grumbled, his voice gravely with rage. His parents left, closing the door again behind them. Once they were out in the hallway Laufey turned to his wife.

"Do you think that was a bit harsh?"

"Would you rather we tried to coddle him about the situation?"

"We could've made it sound better."

Andora shook her head. "It would have made no difference to him. He has never liked being told what he will do, and we both know when his temper flares he can be a bit..."

The two heard a scream of anger come from behind the closed door and the sound of something heavy crashing heavily against a wall.

She sighed. "There was no version of this that didn't end with him being angry at us."

Andora and Laufey began walking down the hallway. "Do you truly believe this trip will help them bond?"

"I hope so, or else all of this will have been for naught." The two continued towards their rooms, wishing they felt a lot more certain about the future of their son's life.


	4. Alfheim

If he was being honest with himself, which he would under no circumstances do right now, he knew he was feeling excessively bitter about the situation at hand but that was a level of honesty he just was not ready to have. 

They stepped out of the portal into the beautiful clearing in Alfheim early in the morning. Loki wasn't sure what he had been expecting when he'd heard hidden cabin in the woods but this wasn't it. Everything there was beautiful, from the exotic colorful flowers to the pond with small animals drinking from it to the side, to the forest teeming with life around them, everywhere he turned was something to marvel at.

Loki loved nature, it was one of his favorite things. Back in Jotunheim he was known to frequent the frozen forests or to take walks along the quiet forgotten pathways of the tundra and a large part of him wanted to run out and explore the new and unknown space around him like he once did in his home when he was a child. The feeling of being one with the place around him would probably bring him joy, peace, and great clarity.

Still, he couldn't fully appreciate any of it no matter how much he wanted to because of _him_.

* * *

"Ok, I guess we should bring our stuff in unpack and-"

"I will be going to my room to rest. I do not wish to be disturbed for the duration of the day."

Tony glared at him. "Do you know what the word bonding means? Do I have to use it in a sentence for you?"

"I would rather bond with the wild animals roaming around in the woods circling this clearing than to bond with _you_."

"Go ahead be my guest. If you charm them as much as you charmed me they'll even get a free meal out of all of it."

"I can defend myself just fine, much better than you mortal. You're the one who needs your little toys to be safe." Loki pointed to the gun at Tony's hip.

"Don't even try it. You'd probably be as threatening as a kitten if you didn't have your magic."

"Well unlike you and your toy, you can't take my magic away."

Tony took a step threateningly towards Loki, eyes narrowed. "Give me an afternoon, I bet I could figure it out. Let's see how big you feel then."

Loki was baring his teeth at him as soon as the words were out. "Touch my magic and you die Stark."

"Let's go inside!" The two boys turned surprised to hear Pepper's cheerful voice. A polite charming smile on her face. Tony rolled his eyes in annoyance and Loki gave his signature scowl but Tony's hand started to slowly lower itself from where it was inching towards his holster.

"I'm going to my room. I know you're hard at hearing so I'll say it one more time for you Stark, I do not want to be disturbed for the rest of the night." Without another word, Loki stomped off towards the house, Amaya following close behind him rolling her eyes.

Tony slowly turned to Pepper. Her happy helpful smile had faded into a deep glare aimed at him. "He start-"

"I don't want to hear it Tony. We're five seconds in and you're ready to have a firefight in the middle of the front yard all because of a few half-baked childish insults. You're both three year olds." Tony opened his mouth to reply but she was already walking angrily towards the house. He sighed and pulled three helper robots out of his pocket to drag his trunk inside, Loki's floating behind him as he walked in a bubble of magic.

When he got to the house a second later still mad, Pepper was sitting next to Amaya, still looking upset with him. Amaya was sitting in the living room looking through a black binder.

"Hey. Sorry for almost trying to shoot your friend a little bit ago." He wouldn't apologize to Loki if it killed him, but he did feel he should say it to her.

To his surprise, she just shrugged. "You wouldn't be the first. Or the second. Probably not the hundredth."

"He makes enemies a lot?"

"The way he acts he has a natural talent for it."

"Why aren't you with him? I thought you were always together."

"Usually we are but he wants to be alone right now and as I'm sure you could guess, he can be quite irritable when disturbed when him when he's mad."

"I doubt he'd try to hurt you."

"He wouldn't but that doesn't mean he wouldn't throw a fit the size of Nifelheim and give me a headache. He's not very happy about this whole arrangement right now."

"Could've fooled me. Here I thought marriage was his thing." Amaya shrugged.

"He doesn't mind the marriage part. He doesn't particularly want to but he will if it is required of him. He just doesn't want to get to know you. Everyone's insistence on the two of you doing so is driving him up a wall. Your own stubbornness on the subject is also not helping."

"How come?"

Amaya shrugged. "He simply does not like people."

"Why not? What happened to make him that way?"

"Why do you assume something happened?"

Tony shrugged. "No one completely shuns all other possibilities of friends or love or even positive contact without something happening to them to make them hate those things."

"If you truly feel something occurred, you can ask him about it yourself."

"And percentage-wise, what are the chances he'd tell me?"

"Being generous? Negative five."

Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. That probably was a generous estimate. "Well I doubt this marriage will at long if that's all we have is anger and resentment. So, how do I get to know him?"

"You don't." Amaya said it as if it was the simplest thing in the world but Tony kept staring at her expecting more.

"Oh come on just because the guy is the most annoying person I've ever met doesn't mean he's always like that. There has to be a time in the day when he's not like this or something he likes that we can bond over or something."

"It's not that simple. Loki doesn't like you. He does not want to get to know you and you will not be able to force him to. If you want to have any hope of you two getting along, Loki has to decide he wants to cooperate with you and learn about you himself."

"Ok so how do I convince him of that?"

"Once again, you don't. You can't convince him. If you had that type of power over him this trip wouldn't have been so necessary."

"So then what do I do!"

"Your best bet is to latch onto any form of connection he gives you no matter how small but that's very unlikely to happen."

"So you're saying that most likely, by the time this is over, this trip will have just been a giant waste of time, neither of us will have bonded and we'll probably hate each other even more."

"Yes."

Tony looked down the hallway towards the bedroom where Loki had undoubtedly disappeared and shook his head. "Look, I'd love to leave it at that and just use these next few months as a free vacation, that would probably make me much happier, but _somebody_ made me promise them that I would actually try here if only to prove that this marriage failing isn't my fault when it does eventually happen, so I don't care how pissy he is right now, I'm going to go talk to him."

Tony started to walk off in the direction of the bedrooms where Prince Loki was. "Wait, Tony," he turned back to look at Amaya "Did you bring any armor with you?"

"Yeah?"

"I suggest you put it on." That seemed a bit like overkill. Still Tony stalked towards the trunk sitting behind him. As he walked away, armored up, Amaya glanced at Pepper. "He is stubborn."

Pepper sat down on the edge of one of the chaises sitting in the middle of the room and shrugged looking off in the direction Tony went to. "They're young royals. Aren't they all stubborn?"

Amaya turned with Pepper towards the direction where both the princes had gone when they heard a shout come down the hallway. "Maybe" Amaya said as she shook her head slowly "But those two definitely take the cake."

* * *

Loki was pissed off still. When Stark decided to antagonize him earlier, he had been more than willing to shoot him and put all of this bonding and the entire trip at large to rest. He decided it would be best to calm himself down before he threw a fireball. A war with Midgard would be nasty for his people.

It was a simple fact of life that when Loki was meditating it was not a good idea to disturb him. Unless you were his parents or Amaya, it would be wise to not even attempt it in the first place and even Amaya had been the victim of a few of his rage fits after she walked in while he was trying to calm himself, so when he heard someone coming into the room, he opened his eyes slowly, completely ready to eviscerate whoever it was that just walked through that door. Sure enough, it was Stark.

"I want to talk to you."

"No." Loki closed his eyes again expecting the conversation to be over but when he didn't hear the door close again to signal Stark's exit he opened them again to see the man still standing there looking at him with his arms crossed across his chest and a stubborn look on his face that was beginning to awaken Loki's homicidal tendencies. "What do you want."

"I already told you what I want. I want to talk to you."

"Which part of I don't want to be disturbed was too complex for your small mortal brain to comprehend! Do I need to use smaller words! I already told you no!"

"It's a good thing for me I wasn't taking requests then now isn't it."

Loki growled in annoyance. It was the only warning Tony was going to get at this point.

"Look, I know you don't like me, obviously, and I think you should know I find you extremely annoying as well," off to a great start "but we are still going to be married and we were still sent here for a reason. We don't have to like each other and we definitely don't have to love each other but we do have to find a way to work and cooperate between the both of us. What do you say?"

"I have no need to cooperate with you. I have no need to work together with you. When we are married, I will handle all of the affairs and duties of Jotunheim and you can deal with all of the problems of Earth. When our children come of age, they will be given both thrones and they will unite them and rule them together as one. Until then, we will each focus on the affairs of our own people."

Tony rolled his eyes looking exasperated. "So you would rather we hate each other and want to kill each other for our entire marriage rather than just trying to make this work? Wouldn't you rather be happily married?"

"I do not care about stupid things like the idea of a happy marriage or love. I don't need them I don't expect them I quite frankly don't even want them. What I _wanted_ was to inherit my throne and to look over my people before eventually having a child through some concubine who would then also be raised to love Jotunheim and its people as I do, and who would one day take over the throne themselves. That's what I wanted. Instead, I get _you_ and involvement in a political affair not of my own making the origins of which date back centuries ago but that I am now responsible to fix!"

"Hey, I'm not too thrilled about this whole thing either! I don't want to marry you in case you haven't noticed but neither of us has a choice and you may be too cold hearted to appreciate them but I for one do know the value of love and a happy marriage and I would prefer to have one!"

"Well you will not be getting them with me, I promise you that. I do not care about you at all, your own need for happiness will have to be fulfilled by you or someone else because as far as I'm concerned, those are not my problem. The only thing I care about is providing for my people. Everything else is a waste of my time!"

Loki closed his eyes again ignoring the seething look of anger on Tony's face and the way his fists were steadily clenching and unclenching. He let out a cry of rage and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Good, Loki though. He needed some peace and quiet anyways but it didn't last long as Tony quickly reappeared, throwing the door open harder than needed and making it crash against the wall on purpose just to annoy him.

"If you have a death wish I will happily grant it for you." He opened his eyes again and stared in shock at Tony walking into the room with one of his strange contraptions carrying his trunk. "What are you doing!"

"I'm putting my stuff away what does it look like! You want to sit alone and sulk do it somewhere else I have unpacking to take care of."

"Unpacking? What are you doing it in here for! I already claimed this room!"

Tony paused where he was sitting over his clothes and turned to him annoyed. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how I've already picked this room, are you dense! Pick another!"

"There _is_ no other room! This house has three bedrooms! There's one for each of the girls, who do you think that leaves this room to?"

Three rooms? They sent him to a place with three rooms? He was going to have to _share_? "No! Absolutely not! I do not share! I don't care how the house was supposed to be set up I demand you find another room!"

"You _demand_ it?"

"Yes! Demand! As in do it! Now!"

"Listen here frostbite, I don't know if you came from a place where everyone did what you said, but that ends now! We're not doing that! You can't and won't demand me to do anything, i don't care what it is, and I don't have to listen to you! There are three bed rooms! This one is meant to be shared and we're sharing it so if you think you're too good to share a room with somebody else, I suggest you get off of your high horse and get over it and stop being such a whiny spoiled little brat!"

Loki's eyes narrowed dangerously. The room temperature dropped ten degrees.

* * *

The glow of magic around Loki's hands was Tony's only warning that he should get out of the way. Now. He threw himself to the side just in time to avoid the sudden blast of magic sent his way. He quickly drew his gun and fired a shot off at Loki who dodged it quickly.

Tony slid down low behind one of his trunks and lifted up to quickly fire three shots in Loki's direction on the bed. Loki jumped behind the bed interrupting the defensive spell he was in the middle casting to protect himself from Tony's bullets. Tony silently listened for any signs of movement. He saw something fly out from behind the cover of the bed and he quickly rose up from behind his cover and shot at it, only realizing too late as the two bullets landed that it was a pillow.

He cursed and jumped away from the safety of his trunk as Loki fired at him still behind the bed. Tony slid across the floor and fired a few more times at Loki. He quickly dove to the floor and avoided the bullets immediately lifting his magic-covered hand in defense.

They were both staring at each other, rage in their eyes, with a clear shot at point-blank range. They both stood up weapons trained on each other the entire time.

"Do it." Loki growled in response putting his hand to the side of Tony's head looking like he really might shoot him.

Tony pressed his gun closer to Loki's head almost flush against his temple and screamed. "Come on! Do it!"

Loki was breathing heavily, eyes blown wide in anger. "Do it!"

"Oh my gosh!"

"What are you doing!"

Tony and Loki were suddenly being pulled away from each other by a pair of familiar hands grabbing each of them. Tony didn't even turn to look at Pepper, he could barely hear her telling him to put the gun down.

"I'm not lowering it until he lowers his first!"

"Not on your life mortal."

"Stop! This is madness, both of you! I am going to count to three and when I get there both of you are going to lower your weapons am I clear!" Tony and Loki didn't say anything back to Amaya instead continuing to glare at each other for a few more seconds. _"Am I_ _clear_!"

Slowly both boys nodded, weapons still at the ready. "One. Two. Three!"

They both slowly lowered their weapons, Tony putting down his gun and Loki letting the magic dissipate from his hand. He was breathing heavy and he was faintly aware of Pepper dragging him from the room towards the kitchen saying they were going to have a talk but he barely noticed it. All he could pay attention to was the matching look of cruelty sitting in Loki's eyes. 


End file.
